Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

This sweet potato lentil chili is the perfect meal for a cold winter day, packed with nutrients and fiber from the sweet potatoes, lentils, and veggies. Your guests will love it — and they won’t even know it’s healthy. Feel free to leave out any of the veggies you don’t like or don’t have, with the exception of the sweet potatoes, which make this dish. Onions, mushrooms, and hot sauce will also be great additions.

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

Makes one large pot (5 quarts) — serves about 8 to 10

Ingredients

1 32oz container veggie broth (low sodium if possible)

1.5 C water

3 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 16oz package dried lentils, rinsed

2 sweet potatoes, cubed

3 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced (optional)

1 green pepper, sliced

1 to 2 cloves garlic, diced

Huge handful kale (optional)

2 Tbsp cumin

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp pepper

Hot sauce (optional — to taste)

Instructions

1) Add the veggie broth, water, diced tomatoes, and rinsed lentils into a large pot (mine is 5 quarts). Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 minutes (to soften the lentils) while you’re chopping the garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, and green pepper.

2) Throw the garlic, kale, carrots, and sweet potato into the simmering pot, followed about 5 minutes later by the celery and green pepper and your spices. The room will now proceed to smell awesome.

3) Let the mixture continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until it reaches the level of cooked consistency you prefer. This shouldn’t take long (maybe 5 to 10 minutes more) — just make sure the carrots, sweet potatoes, and lentils are soft.

Enjoy! Serve as is or top with extra marinara sauce, hot sauce, or salsa and cilantro :)

LOVED IT so much I ate it for lunch the next day, too :) Dave is still transitioningg to eating uber-healthy, so the recipe gets extra credt because he gave it a thumbs up! I also tried the chicken salad recipe with Greek yogurt and was so happy with the result. I used organic chicken, added a few pieces of apple and sprinkled sunflower seeds to the original recipe. YUM!

Hooray!!! I’m so glad you guys liked it! Try it with some salsa and cilantro on top :) Or with extra tomato sauce – also amazing! Great idea with the chicken salad additions, too! -Anne

The sweet potato is just cubed and thrown in raw! And as for the simmering – just cook it until the sweet potatoes and lentils are soft enough. I don’t remember having to simmer for too long – maybe 10 to 20 minutes?

I am planning on making this today, but was wondering if it would freeze well until Thanksgiving. I’m the only vegetarian in my family, and would like to have something hearty to bring over, but I won’t have time to make it the day of or before. What do you think? Thx for all your great recipes!

Anne, I wanted to let you know that I made this last night, and loved it! I halved the recipe, and will be looking forward to enjoying leftovers this week! I love simple recipes like this that are veggie-packed, easy to make, and still super flavorful. Thank you!

This looks like my kind of chili!! I love lentils more than any normal person probably should, and have been becoming increasingly fond of sweet potatoes lately. I don’t care if the weather’s starting to warm up now – this looks too delicious to wait for colder seasons!!

OMG….this is seriously one of the best things I have ever made/eaten….so easy!!! Thank you so so much! I halved the recipe, added zucchini and put a couple little twists on it. YUM! Eating it right now and I had to stop to express my gratitude!

I had to cook this for much longer than the recipe stated, but it was worth it because this recipe is delicious! I opted for Swiss chard instead of celery and kale, and I added a teaspoon of smoked paprika. I love how the cinnamon and the sweet potato really bring the flavors out of one another, and how well they work with the rest of the ingredients in this dish.